Perkins + Will has a new head of its Dubai-based urban design team, Steve Velegrinis, a planner and landscape architect.

Velegrinis has previously worked with a variety of global practices including Woods Bagot, GCLA Landscape Architects and ICN Design International, as well as for government and municipal bodies such as Singapore’s Urban Redevelopment Authority and the City Of Yarra, Melbourne, Australia.

He is also completing a PhD in landscape urbanism as the future for sustainable urban development in the Middle East and Asia.

Velegrinis teaches at the American University of Sharjah and has recently written essays in two forthcoming books on Gulf urbanism.

He said: “I am really excited to join Perkins+Will in Dubai as director of the urban design team.

“ The team is comprised of a range of urban designers, architects and landscape architects who have all worked together before in the UAE and we are receiving strong support from our urban design teams. Perkins+Will has a fantastic global approach and a real belief in multi-disciplinary, sustainable design practice.”